Definition
An Object is an identifiable and governable element that exists within the operational model. An Object represents something that can be described, managed, related, evaluated, or governed throughout its lifecycle. Objects are independent of implementation technologies and business domains.
Purpose
This document defines the concept of an Object within the OCOM Specification.
Object is the fundamental architectural construct used to represent any managed element within an organization.
All higher-level specifications are built upon this common abstraction.
Business meaning
Objects provide a consistent representation for organizational elements.
Using a common Object model enables interoperability, traceability, governance, and reuse across the entire OCOM ecosystem.
Design principles
Every Object shall:
- possess an identity
- contain metadata
- support relationships
- participate in governance
- support lifecycle management
- be independently identifiable
- remain technology independent
Core characteristics
- Identity
- Metadata
- Classification
- Relationships
- Lifecycle
- Ownership
- Governance
A Object may additionally support:
- Evaluation
- Versioning
- Capabilities
- Policies
- Contracts
- Constraints
Relationship to other specifications
| Aspect | Defined by |
|---|---|
| Identity | ocom:Identity |
| Metadata | ocom:Metadata |
| Relationships | ocom:Relationship |
| References | ocom:Reference |
| Lifecycle | ocom:Lifecycle |
| Ownership | ocom:Ownership |
| Classification | ocom:Classification |
| Capabilities | ocom:Capability |
| Policies | ocom:Policy |
| Constraints | ocom:Constraint |
| Contracts | ocom:Contract |
Compared with
- OCOM vs BPMN — Partial
- OCOM vs Digital Twin — Partial
- OCOM vs Knowledge Graph — Partial
Examples
- Entity
- Domain
- Workflow
- Event
- Lifecycle
- Agent
- Tool
- Prompt
- Context
- Knowledge
- Memory Record
- Policy
- Registry
- Contract
- Organization
Architectural role
Object is the universal abstraction within OCOM.
All managed concepts defined by the specification are specializations of Object.
Specifications may extend Object but shall preserve its core characteristics.
This principle is canonically stated in Constitution §1 — Object-Centric Reality (`Core/Constitution.md`).
Independence — does not prescribe
- implementation technologies
- storage mechanisms
- programming languages
- communication protocols
- deployment architectures
Conformance
A compliant implementation shall ensure that every managed Object:
- possesses a unique identity
- supports metadata
- can participate in relationships
- supports governance
- preserves traceability
- remains technology independent
Provenance
Governance records: CAND-005, CAND-006
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 20 July 2026 | Initial draft |
| 0.1 | 25 July 2026 | Added Organization to Examples of Objects, per ADR CAND-005 (Option C) |
| 0.1 | 27 July 2026 | Added cross-reference to Constitution §1 in Architectural Role, per CAND-006 Step 0 integration |